9 App Store Optimization (ASO) Tips to Increase App Downloads

Many times, App Store Optimization has been somewhat overlooked by numerous business people. Maybe this all is because of the growth of Google’s index progression, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and some other industry changes driving every marketer’s consideration.

It doesn’t matter if you are new to the ASO or the one who is keen enough to carry-out app store optimization processes; this write-up will indeed pass-up some signification insights which will definitely maximize the app store success for you and your business.

App Store Optimization – What Is It?

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Well, App Store Optimization is known by many different names, be it Mobile App SEO or App Store Marketing; both go in the same way.

The central purpose of ASO is to improve the ranking of mobile applications in the app stores, whether it is in Google Play Store, Windows Store, iTunes, or some other. However, a maximum number of times, most mobile phone apps are developed for Android, Windows Phone, or iPhone and iPad.

More so, the principal purpose of integrating App Store Optimization process is to get more app downloads, however supplemental goals can be:

  • More audience engagement.
  • Enhanced brand exposure.
  • An extra marketing channel diversification.
  • App ratings and reviews.
Recommended for you: From Search to PWA - The Ultimate Mobile Experience.

Now, Let’s Know How to Justify Expenditure in App Store Optimization

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Agree to the fact, in this technological era, app downloads and app store users are growing at a fast rate.

According to the one valuable source, it was revealed that there were approx. 270 billion applications that were supposed to be installed in the year 2017. Well, it was an abundant increase in the number since there were only 224.8 billion applications downloaded back in the year 2016.

These numbers will indeed make you realize that App Store Optimization is one tactic that must be prioritized by your business.

App Store Optimization – Let’s Understand It More Clearly

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This App Store Optimization is actually going to be a more common alternative to your company’s online marketing, probably more than even you may think. This would be true; especially if you are new to the app store optimization process.

In addition to this, there are somewhat overlaps in between the App Store Optimization process and tradition Search Engine Optimization. Probably, something on which we will shed light in this post. Well, these both make a great sense of each other. What’s more, is that App stores are too as a site search engine, which somewhere relies upon:

  • User-centric content (of course, for the app).
  • Conventional Indexation.
  • App raking algorithms.
  • Great app quality.
  • Freshness.
  • User values.
  • Brand scale.
Seems alike? Of course, it should since these all factors are significant for app ranking.

Marketing specialists concentrating on generating elevated ROI from app stores are principally targeting fundamental performance symbols tied to enhancing the app perceptibility:

  • Downloads.
  • Shares.
  • Rankings.
  • Impressions.
  • User Engagement.
  • Reviews & Ratings.
This ASO process is too getting so popular and evolved in businesses (PS: Like SEO).

Effective App Store Optimization can certainly increase the visibility of your application in the app stores. Whenever any business gets an app, the obvious purpose behind it is to get more traffic. And with a complete commitment and focus towards the ASO process, you & your business can definitely stand out from other businesses in the Play Store and App Store.

App Store Optimization – How Does It Work & What Are Its Mechanics?

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There are innumerable factors that influence the app store optimization process for Android and iOS applications. Let’s dive into it by considering both On-metadata and Off-metadata factors to know more:

ASO = On-Metadata Factors + Off-Metadata Factors

On-Metadata Factors

point-01These on-metadata factors are basically the elements of listing and product pages which can be easily modified in Google Play Store Console and App Store Connect. By making these modifications, one can easily explore conversion rate, visibility, keywords rankings, and KPIs of the application.

Elements that are in 100% control in such a case are – App name, description, icon, URL, screenshots, category, subtitle, keywords field, and promo text.

Optimization of meta-data will help you in ranking your application higher on search stores.

Off-Metadata Factors

point-02These Off-metadata factors are those outer constituents that are not under the authority of the app developer.

However, there are many such factors that are not supposed to be in 100% control, and those are – ratings, user engagement, reviews, number of installations and maybe the success rate of an app.

In brief words, we can describe this as an App Store Optimization Process.

You may like: 5 Tips to Check if Your App is Ready for Submission to the iOS App Store.

Optimizing of App Store Search – Why Is It Important?

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Search plays an immense part in how users find applications, with research inquiries accounting for 68% of installations from the Application Store. Indeed this is a process, or we could say a MARATHON…

In order to help you improve the app marketing approach (with the app store ranking), I have curated a list of 9 most effective App Store Optimization tips that would surely encourage more users to install your app. These effective tactics will work to boost your efforts and gauge the success rate of your app. Let’s dive in!

Prioritize ASO Process

Point 1App Store Optimization (ASO) is an easy but essential process to influence application installations. Remember that it demands a continued effort in order to be successful. However, app rankings rely on metadata somewhere like description, ratings, reviews, and keywords —there’s much more, ASO approach can do for your business. Most importantly, you must know the way in which keywords rank in every app section.

For example, music and trivia games are easier to rank on app stores rather than casual games. In addition to this, you can implement A/B analyses to know which store assets utmost resonate with your likely users so you can continue improving your app and its page.

Things to Track:

  • The total number of installations.
  • Impressions.
  • Keyword ranking.

Make Sure Your Application Is Crash-Free

Point 2In a case, if any of your users find any obstacles in your application, they will possibly be sharing their complaints online to share their honest feedback. Once you acknowledge their opinion and the concern of the crash of an app, your programmers should solve the problem quickly and ensure the app doesn’t get crash again.

Nevertheless, it’s important to follow an effective and reliable approach to bypass such problems. You need to ensure your app undergoes proper testing so that your programmers can know all likely errors and fix them at the right time.

Things to Track:

  • Retention rate.
  • Crash rate.

Ask the Users to Make Referrals

Point 3Referrals are one great means to exhibit excellence, significance, and assurance, which will further help in increasing installations. You can consider turning your present users into brand representatives by offering them some incentive to refer your app.

Let’s consider an example to make it clearer. Suppose if you own a cloud storage application, you can consider offering a GIG of storage to the users who refer your app to their friends. Or if there is a ride-sharing app of your business, then you can consider providing free ride credits in place of a referral.

Things to Track:

  • The number of installations.
  • The number of app referrals.

Consider Investing in Content

Point 4Having quality and consistent content to market your app can aid you to reach more likely customers. This content can be any piece of content be it sponsored content, online articles, infographics, or videos, although it should be customized depending on your audience.

For example, for a gaming app, you can consider making walkthrough videos to showcase your app’s gameplay and visuals. Or you can further consider sharing a user-centric content to make s strong sense of community.

Things to Track:

  • The number of shares.
  • The total number of referrals (organic ones).
  • Ranking.

Encourage User Reviews

Point 5Improving the app store visibility is just a single part of improving the download numbers. Once the likely users locate your app on the Play Store, you need to convince them to install your valuable and effective app. At this point, user reviews come as handy.

In a survey, it was found that a maximum number of times, users tend to trust recommendations more, be it in the form of ratings or user reviews. You must support more of these reviews from your audiences; however, don’t prefer sending an excessive number of notifications.

Reviews clearly indicate the relevance and the quality of your app to all the likely installers. More so, these reviews also give a great opportunity for you to engage with more users.

If there are some reviewers who provide advice or even accusations, you can make an answer to them and show likely customers how responsible you are. With this, you will incite more assurance and inspire more app installations.

Things to Track:

  • Total reviews for your app.
  • Top reviews.

Connect on Social Media

Point 6Having a great social media presence can be an efficient means to increase your influence on existing and new users. However, your likely users will use their time on one platform than another, thus giving consideration to user demographics is important. Remember that you’ll need to do more than following up with the social media approaches and sharing sale pitches to drag the interest of the people. Communication with your supporters and urging them to give their opinions shows that you bother about your target audience’s ideas.

Things to Track

  • Social shares.
  • Total follower count.

Community, Influencer and Outreach

Point 7Influencers hold the potential to influence the purchasing patterns of the users. Reviews from acknowledged professionals not only get great vulnerability to the app, though it also brings more trust. Therefore, with the help of the right influencers for your business app, you can build a great partnership which tends to go a long way and obviously boost the app installations.

Things to Track:

  • Search engine ranking.
  • Organic referrals.
  • Social mentions.

Analyze, Measure, & Optimize

Point 8In this tech-savvy era, it is important to constantly analyze how users are connecting with your app, and if they remain engaged with it or not. After you analyze all the aspects in the right, you will get to know if the users are using it in the right. Plus you will also get to know if there are any roadblocks that people might be facing while using the app. Once you get these insights, you can optimize the campaigns according to them. More so, once you get to know the areas where you are lacking, then you can re-direct your campaign efforts to make it work for you in the best way.

Things to Track:

  • Uninstall rate.
  • Retention rate.
  • Session length.

Put the Best Foot Forward

Point 9With every passing day, app stores are getting more & more saturated, and in the industry where the merging of mobile web & mobile apps, it’s best to consider how your business transposes across various channels instead. Obviously, it’s going to be much more than marketing on various channels, but being able to gauge their efficiency too.

Things to Track:

  • Purchases.
  • Events.
  • Registrations.
You may also like: How Beneficial Strategies of Mobile App Marketing are Helpful for Your Business?

Wrapping It Up

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Packed up with the complete information of the app store ranking algorithms and these effective App Store Optimization tips, you are definitely on the way to an insurmountable App Store Optimization strategy. Through a thorough analysis and approach, you will soon propel and grow among your competition.

App Store Optimization is a continuous on-going process and thanks to the competitive app stores and continually growing algorithms for it. An optimum and effective ASO strategy requires a propensity of analytics, a keen eye for strategy, and frequent check-ins. Once a business manages it in the right way, its investment will certainly pay off, which will indeed make them rank top on the charts.

Author-Image-Liza-KoshThis article is written by Liza Kosh. Liza is known for her tremendous contribution as a senior writer who loves to share her views on topics covering upcoming technology and the market trends. She is currently associated with Seasia InfoTech the best online marketing agency based in the USA.

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Souvik BanerjeeWeb Developer & SEO Specialist with 15+ years of experience in Open Source Web Development specialized in Joomla & WordPress development. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions".